I need an expert to appraise my car!

Someone caused me to wreck my beautiful Reatta. They did a u-turn right in front of me and when I swerved to miss them I hit a telephone pole. Their insurance is taking responsibility but they aren't giving me the what I think my car is worth. Yeah, it's probably a normal '89 reatta, but it has a relatively new transmission with only 20,000 miles on it. I spoke to a Lawyer and he told me I should get an independent expert to appraise my car.

Might there be someone I could speak to about this? They are offering me about $3800 for the car. Which on the surface seems reasonable for an 89 Reatta with 120,000 miles on it, but the rebuilt transmission cost me $2000. I'd expect to get at least an additional grand from the transmission. Plus I have new tires with maybe 5000 miles on them.

Am I expecting too much?

CPI Value Guide has an '89 coupe as #3 $4450.00, and #2 $6675.00. You will have to weigh the condition of the rest of the car >>>> everything from front to back both mechanically and cosmetically, and come to a realistic category to place the car in. I would consider the improvements and add a large percentage of the cost to the final value. Try to work it out with the insurance company first. If they won't satisfy you and you have the time, carry it as far as it will go >>> court. Look on the internet for appraisers and under "diminished value" >>>> you have a collectable automobile.

I have been fighting a diminished value claim under similar circumstances for almost 1 1/2 years now and I feel a settlement is in the near future

Call Classic Car Appraisal Service, Roswell, Georgia. One of the best in the country in this type of case. Talk to Don. He may not tell you what you want to hear, but he'll give you accurate information and advice.

770-993-5622.

Try using high-dollar ads for Reattae from auto trader or eBay.

I'm sure your car was in EXCELLENT #2 condition BEFORE it was damaged, was'nt it?

There's an '88 coupe on ebay now w/30k, price above $4k.

Not to rain on the parade here, but appraisal values for vehicles assume that the car is in working order. Having a new transmission and tires doesn't raise the value of the vehicle above what the appraisal would be, it simply eliminates the penalty that a car with bald tires and a bad transmission would have.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Not to rain on the parade here, but appraisal values for vehicles assume that the car is in working order. Having a new transmission and tires doesn't raise the value of the vehicle above what the appraisal would be, it simply eliminates the penalty that a car with bald tires and a bad transmission would have. </div></div>

You're wrong, there, Rawja. A proper appraisal DOES take into consideration a car's "working order." Any appraisal worth it's salt definately considers a car's running condition as part of its assessment. You may be referring to a "value guide" where a class 1, 2, or 3 car "assumes" that the car is in working order.

That said, though, you're partially right. Just because $2,500 was just spent on transmission and tires, that doesn't mean the car is worth that much more. But a car that is mechanically "fit" will definately appraise for more than a car that is in need of a lot of mechanical fixes. If any appraiser thinks otherwise, he's not much of an appraiser.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Not to rain on the parade here, but appraisal values for vehicles assume that the car is in working order. Having a new transmission and tires doesn't raise the value of the vehicle above what the appraisal would be, it simply eliminates the penalty that a car with bald tires and a bad transmission would have. </div></div>

You're wrong, there, Rawja. A proper appraisal DOES take into consideration a car's "working order." Any appraisal worth it's salt definately considers a car's running condition as part of its assessment. You may be referring to a "value guide" where a class 1, 2, or 3 car "assumes" that the car is in working order.

That said, though, you're partially right. Just because $2,500 was just spent on transmission and tires, that doesn't mean the car is worth that much more. But a car that is mechanically "fit" will definately appraise for more than a car that is in need of a lot of mechanical fixes. If any appraiser thinks otherwise, he's not much of an appraiser. </div></div>

ummmmmm.........didn't you both say the same thing?

No. The opposite, actually. Rawja said that the appraised value of a car wouldn't change if the car was mechanically sound, and i said that it definately would.

You don't say where you are located. My 89 was appraised @ $7,750 in 03 by Chicago Car Exchange, which does a fair amount of this. Mileage was 57,924. It won gold at Lincolnshire last summer.

Just a thought,have you asked how much to buy the car back from the insurance company, after they have paid the claim ? It usually doesn't cost much and would let you reclaim the tires and the transmission. I have done this before and it lets you get back your expensive rebuild cheaply...

Just a very good reminder to have our cars appraised, now, not after a crash. I agree with Rawja, you've got a used transmission and a used set of tires on a used car, go to a salvage yard and see what used trannys and tires are worth.